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BJP’s Joy makes Satabdi fight for every vote in West Bengal

Jaideep Mazumdar & Someswar Boral

At the tea stalls lining the ‘be-sharkari’ bus stand in this town, about 230 kilometers northwest of Kolkata, the bets are on not just who will emerge victorious in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from the Birbhum seat, but also on who will be the runner-up.

| TNN | Apr 27, 2014, 01.16 AM IST

SURI: At the tea stalls lining the 'be-sharkari' bus stand in this town, about 230 kilometers northwest of Kolkata, the bets are on not just who will emerge victorious in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from the Birbhum seat, but also on who will be the runner-up.

What could have been a straight contest between incumbent MP Satabdi Roy and CPM's Qamre Elahi has been made a triangular one with the BJP's Joy Banerjee eliciting favourable response from the electorate.

Satabdi is not only battling her CPM and BJP rivals, but also factionalism within her own party. This reflects in her speeches at campaign meetings: the actor talks of lies being spread against her and "dirty tricks". Though she doesn't name anyone, her targets are some senior Trinamool leaders in the district. Till a few months ago, Satabdi and Birbhum Trinamool strongman Anubrata Mondal were at daggers drawn. Though CM Mamata Banerjee ordered a patch-up earlier this year and the relationship between the two appears cordial on the surface, the differences between the two are too deep to paper over, say party insiders.

Against this backdrop emerged actor Joy Banerjee. This BJP candidate jumped into the fray very early and has been campaigning in all the seven assembly segments that make for Birbhum LS constituency. The response that he's been evoking has been enough to send alarm bells ringing within the Trinamool, which has now shifted its focus from Elahi to Joy Banerjee.

Over the past couple of weeks, Trinamool leaders have been heaping scorn on Banerjee. "We have been asking voters to shun the BJP which is a communal party," says MLA Swapan Ghosh. The CPM, too, has been focusing its attack on the BJP, more so in assembly segments Murarai, Nalhati, Rampurhat and Dubrajpur, where Muslims account for about 30% of the electorate.

Satabdi Roy has worked, admit many. "She had made full use of her MPLAD funds and had visited Birbhum regularly, toured all parts of this constituency and interacted with people during the last five years," says Debangshu Mondal, a stationery shop owner. But Banibrata Das, who also runs an apparel shop, says that Satabdi has remained inaccessible. "She doesn't belong to Birbhum and no matter how many times she comes here, she'll be an outsider. An MP has to stay in his constituency to know it thoroughly, know its people and their problems and look into it," he said. This is precisely the perception that Satabdi is fighting. "I have been coming here so frequently for five years now. Can I still be called an outsider?" she asks.

The CPM's Qamre Elahi, a medical practitioner, is a well-known face. Elahi had represented Murarai in the state assembly for two consecutive terms in 2001 and 2006 and is popular among many in Birbhum. "I got very encouraging response during my campaigns and am confident of victory. Birbhum has, since 1971, been represented by the CPM and we lost in 2009 by a modest margin. Since then, the ground situation has changed and there is an undercurrent of support in our favour," said Elahi.

But the CPM is, organizationally, weak in many areas, particularly the rural belt, where the Trinamool has wiped out all traces of Marxists. The CPM is banking on Joy Banerjee to cut into Satabdi's votes. The Congress' Syed Siraj 'Jimmy' isn't regarded with any concern in the Trinamool and CPM camps.

Of the seven assembly segments in Birbhum, three are held by Trinamool, two by Congress and the remaining two by Left. Though the CPM and Forward Bloc retained Sainthia and Dubrajpur constituencies respectively, their vote share fell and since then, their organizational strength has eroded considerably.

Trinamool's Ashish Banerjee has been the Rampurhat MLA for four consecutive terms since 2001, but his vote share fell in 2011. The Congress is expected to do well in Hansan and Nalhati assembly segments. The BJP has a considerable support base in Rampurhat, Nalhati and Suri.

Srikrishna Ghosh, a former teacher of Birbhum Mahavidyalaya College, puts the situation here succinctly: "The contest is still an open one. The Trinamool as a party with Mamata at its helm has been a huge disappointment and her style of functioning has put off many people. It is beset with factionalism and Anubrata Mondal is not viewed favourably by a large section of people, especially the educated. The CPM is weak and hasn't really done much. The BJP won't get the support of minorities but is gaining influence among the rest. Given these and other factors, any of the three (Satabdi, Joy Banerjee and Qamre Elahi) could be the winner and the runner-up".

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